170+ Literary Dog Names for Your Reading Buddy!

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Kelsey Leicht

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book inspired dog names

Does your bookworm of a woofer need a name that sounds as well-read as you are? Look no further!

We’ve sniffed around the libraries of time and compiled a list of literary dog names that speak to every reader, whether you and your pup love the classics or prefer contemporary fiction. 

Check out our list of literary dog names below!

Name-Picking Help

After you peruse the lists below, be sure to check out our article detailing some of the most important tips and tricks for selecting your dog’s name.

Literary Dog Names for Male Pooches

Literary names for male dogs

Masculine monikers are plentiful among literary dog names, with everything from character surnames to titles making excellent choices for your new fur friend. You can go for something serious, like Atticus, or capture your canine’s curious spirit (or interesting looks) with Gollum.

Some of our favorite male literary dog names are:

  • Ahab (Moby Dick)
  • Ajax (The Odyssey)
  • Albus (Harry Potter)
  • Asher (The Giver)
  • Atticus (To Kill a Mockingbird)
  • Augie (The Adventures of Augie March)
  • Baggins (The Hobbit)
  • Behemoth (The Master and the Margarita)
  • Beowulf (Beowulf) 
  • Bilbo (The Hobbit)
  • Bond (Casino Royale)
  • Crusoe (Robinson Crusoe)
  • Dorian (The Picture of Dorian Gray)
  • Draco (Harry Potter)
  • Finn (Adventures of Huckleberry Finn)
  • Frankenstein (Frankenstein)
  • Gandalf (The Hobbit)
  • Gollum (The Hobbit)
  • Griffin (The Invisible Man)
  • Gulliver (Gulliver’s Travels)
  • Hagrid (Harry Potter)
  • Hamlet (Hamlet)
  • Harry (Harry Potter)
  • Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights)
  • Holden (Catcher in the Rye)
  • Hyde (Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde)
  • Inigo (The Princess Bride)
  • Jeeves (My Man Jeeves)
  • Jekyll (Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde)
  • Leopold (Ulysses)
  • Moby (Moby Dick)
  • Mr. Fox (The Fantastic Mr. Fox)
  • Oberon (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)
  • Odysseus (The Odyssey)
  • Oliver (Oliver Twist)
  • Orlando (As You Like It)
  • Othello (Othello)
  • Rhett (Gone With the Wind)
  • Romeo (Romeo & Juliet)
  • Santiago (The Old Man and the Sea)
  • Sawyer (Adventures of Huckleberry Finn)
  • Severus (Harry Potter)
  • Scrooge (A Christmas Carol)
  • Sherlock (Sherlock Holmes)
  • Simon (Lord of the Flies)
  • Smaug (The Hobbit)
  • Tiny Tim (A Christmas Carol)
  • Quixote (Don Quixote)
  • Watson (Sherlock Holmes)
  • Westley (The Princess Bride)

Literary Dog Names for Female Pooches

Literary names for female dogs

From the bold and brave to the dainty and delicate, female literary dog names come in all shapes and sizes. Standouts include the tomboyish Beezus, the sweet Buttercup, and the fearless Arya (and speaking of Arya, be sure to check out our list of names inspired by Game of Thrones).

Our top picks for literary names for girl dogs include:

  • Alice (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland)
  • Aouda (Around the World in Eighty Days)
  • Arwen (The Lord of the Rings)
  • Arya (Game of Thrones)
  • Beezus (Beezus and Ramona)
  • Bellatrix (Harry Potter)
  • Buffy (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
  • Buttercup (The Princess Bride)
  • Celie (The Color Purple)
  • Chani (Dune)
  • Charlotte (Charlotte’s Web)
  • Coraline (Coraline)
  • Cosette (Les Misérables)
  • Dagny (Atlas Shrugged)
  • Daisy (The Great Gatsby)
  • Dorothy (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)
  • Elinor (Sense and Sensibility)
  • Éowyn (The Lord of the Rings)
  • Gidget (Gidget, the Little Girl With Big Ideas)
  • Hermione (Harry Potter)
  • Hester (The Scarlet Letter)
  • Holly (Breakfast At Tiffany’s)
  • Imogen (Cymbeline)
  • Jane (Jane Eyre)
  • Juliet (Romeo & Juliet)
  • Junie (Junie B. Jones)
  • Katla (The Brothers Lionheart)
  • Katniss (The Hunger Games)
  • Lila (Psycho)
  • Lisbeth (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo)
  • Lizzie (Pride & Prejudice)
  • Lolita (Lolita)
  • Lyra (His Dark Materials)
  • Madeline (Madeline)
  • Matilda (Matilda)
  • Mina (Dracula)
  • Miss Bates (Emma)
  • Ophelia (Hamlet)
  • Penelope (The Odyssey)
  • Penny (Penny Parker)
  • Phoebe (The Catcher in the Rye)
  • Pippi (Pippi Longstocking)
  • Poppins (Mary Poppins)
  • Raksha (The Jungle Book)
  • Ramona (Beezus and Ramona)
  • Sabriel (Sabriel)
  • Sansa (Game of Thrones)
  • Scarlett (Gone With the Wind)
  • Sookie (The Southern Vampire Mysteries)
  • Tiger Lily (Peter and Wendy)

Unisex/Gender-Neutral Literary Dog Names

Gender-neutral literary names

Another stupendous source of literary namespiration are gender-neutral names. These are great if you’re looking for mythological dog names that are flexible that can fit any pooch, whether it’s a persnickety poodle or a rough-and-tumble retriever. Best of all, this group offers many memorable monikers.

Some all-star unisex literary dog names are:

  • Aslan (The Chronicles of Narnia)
  • Binx (The Moviegoer)
  • Darcy (Pride and Prejudice)
  • Fern (Charlotte’s Web)
  • Fezziwig (A Christmas Carol)
  • Gatsby (The Great Gatsby)
  • Hero (Much Ado About Nothing)
  • Huckleberry (Adventures of Huckleberry Finn)
  • Jem (To Kill a Mockingbird)
  • Jip (Jip and Janneke)
  • Jo (Little Women)
  • Jules (Brigade Criminelle)
  • Piglet (Winnie-the-Pooh)
  • Pip (Great Expectations)
  • Quimby (Beezus and Ramona)
  • Quincey (Dracula)
  • Ramsay (To the Lighthouse)
  • Raven (The Raven)
  • Rikki (Rikki-Tikki-Tavi)
  • Ripley (The Talented Mr. Ripley)
  • Scout (To Kill a Mockingbird)
  • Shiloh (Shiloh)
  • Weasley (Harry Potter)
  • Winnie (Winnie-the-Pooh)

Famous Dogs from Literature

literary character dog names

Tapping into fictional Fidos is another way to nab the perfect literary name for your doggo. You can strive for legendary loyalty, like The Odyssey’s Argos, or you can pick something humorous and ironic, like Harry Potter’s Fluffy, who belonged to the three-headed hellhound in the series. 

A few of the most famous literary dog characters:

  • Argos (The Odyssey)
  • Blue (The Sound and the Fury)
  • Buck (Call of the Wild)
  • Clifford (Clifford the Big Red Dog)
  • Cujo (Cujo)
  • Eos (Funeral Games)
  • Fang (Harry Potter)
  • Fluffy (Harry Potter)
  • Kiche (White Fang)
  • Kipper (Kipper the Dog)
  • Lassie (Lassie)
  • Marley (Marley & Me)
  • Old Yeller (Old Yeller)
  • Pilot (Jane Eyre)
  • Popper (The Goldfinch)
  • Randolph (A Dog About Town)
  • Renni (Renni the Rescuer)
  • Ribsy (Ribsy)
  • Ripper (Harry Potter)
  • Scamper (The Secret Seven)
  • Spot (Spot the Dog)
  • Toto (The Wizard of Oz)
  • White Fang (White Fang)
  • Winn-Dixie (Because of Winn-Dixie)

Literary Dog Names Inspired by Authors

Author Inspired Dog Names

Turning to the brains behind your favorite stories can also be a treasure trove of incredible literary dog names.

You can opt for something easily identifiable to the ear, like Shakespeare or Hemingway, or you can choose something a little more subtle, like Harper or Maya. These names have tremendous flexibility, and you can often find uber-formal picks, like Fitzgerald, a favorite among dashing doggos. 

Author-inspired choices include:

  • Agatha (Agatha Christie)
  • Austen (Jane Austen)
  • Bram (Bram Stoker)
  • Brontë (Charlotte Brontë)
  • Dickens (Charles Dickens)
  • Dumas (Alexandre Dumas)
  • Fitzgerald (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
  • Harper (Harper Lee)
  • Hawthorne (Nathaniel Hawthorne)
  • Hemingway (Ernest Hemingway)
  • Hunter (Hunter S. Thompson)
  • J.D. (J.D. Salinger)
  • Maya (Maya Angelou)
  • Orwell (George Orwell)
  • Oscar (Oscar Wilde)
  • Pippa (Pippa Grant)
  • Poe (Edgar Allen Poe)
  • Quinn (Julia Quinn)
  • Shakespeare (William Shakespeare)
  • Shelley (Mary Shelley)
  • Sylvia (Sylvia Plath)
  • Steel (Danielle Steel)
  • Tolkien (JRR Tolkien)
  • Twain (Mark Twain)
  • Walt (Walt Whitman)
  • Zora (Zora Neale Hurston
Not Finding a Literary Name You Like?

If you can’t find a name among those listed above that feels right for your pooch, be sure to check out these other great name lists:

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Does your bookish barker have one of these literary dog names, or does she have another we didn’t list? Let us know in the comments! We’d love to hear.

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Written by

Kelsey Leicht

Kelsey is a lover of words and woofs. She worked hands-on with dogs for several years at a boarding kennel as a shift runner and office manager before venturing into the world of writing. She lives in New Jersey with her crew of crazy canines.

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